SouthernWorldwide.com – For many professional golfers, a five-month span without a PGA Tour victory would hardly be considered a slump.
However, for the world’s No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler, it’s been long enough to spark questions about his form.
The Travelers Championship, even with a delayed finish, is making those doubts seem rather premature, although Scheffler must wait until Monday morning to see if his winless streak officially ends.
Scheffler and Viktor Hovland concluded regulation play at TPC River Highlands tied at 21-under par on Sunday. This has set up a rare Monday playoff at the Travelers Championship, as weather delays and fading daylight prevented the tournament from being decided within the scheduled timeframe.
The playoff is slated to commence at 9 a.m. ET on the par-4 18th hole. The Travelers Championship employs a sudden-death playoff format, meaning the player with the lower score on any given playoff hole secures the victory. Should both Scheffler and Hovland tie a hole, they will proceed to the next until a winner emerges.
This means Scheffler’s quest for a victory is not yet over.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER SAYS BEING THE NO. 1 GOLFER IN THE WORLD IS ‘NOT A FULFILLING LIFE’
For Hovland, this playoff presents a final opportunity to dethrone the world’s top golfer after a closely contested final round, which was significantly impacted by rain.
Scheffler arrived at the Travelers Championship with only one victory in 2026, which was achieved back in January at The American Express. It’s important to note that “only one victory” is a significant understatement given his consistent performance.
This is not to say Scheffler has been playing poorly this season; quite the contrary. The reigning world No. 1 has recorded eight top-five finishes in his first 13 starts of the season. This includes his win at The American Express and runner-up finishes at prestigious events like The Masters, the RBC Heritage, and the Cadillac Championship.
He also secured a third-place finish at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and a tie for fourth at last week’s U.S. Open.
Now, he has another chance to convert a near-win into a championship title.
However, he will have to wait until tomorrow to do so.
Scheffler began the final round trailing Hovland by a single shot, following a dynamic first three days of play in Connecticut. He opened with a 64, narrowly missed a historic 59 on Friday by shooting a 60, and then posted a 67 on Saturday, placing him in solo second position, one stroke behind Hovland.
From this position, it appeared Scheffler was on a familiar path to victory.
The world’s best golfer had 18 holes to chase down another trophy.
Instead, Hovland ensured that the Travelers Championship would require more than the standard 72 holes to determine a winner.
Scheffler, who rarely needs assistance from his competitors, received an early boost from Hovland. The Norwegian golfer, who birdied the 18th hole on Saturday to claim the lead over Scheffler heading into the final round, bogeyed his opening hole on Sunday, bringing him back into a tie with Scheffler.
Scheffler had a steady front nine, recording one birdie and one bogey for an even-par 35. Hovland also dropped a shot on the front nine with a 36, which allowed several other players to re-enter the tournament contention.
Collin Morikawa posted an impressive 61 in the final round, setting a clubhouse lead of 20-under par several hours before Scheffler and Hovland completed their rounds.
For a period, it seemed Morikawa would be the primary challenger Scheffler needed to overcome.
Then, Hovland made his decisive move.
Scheffler made birdies on holes 10 and 13, propelling him to 21-under par and giving him a one-shot lead over Morikawa’s standing score. Hovland, who also birdied the 13th hole, and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark remained two shots back, but Scheffler appeared to be in control of the tournament when heavy rain began to fall at TPC River Highlands, leading to a weather delay.
Following the delay, Hovland dramatically shifted the momentum.
He birdied the 14th hole to pull within one shot, and then added another birdie on the 15th to join Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard. Suddenly, Scheffler was no longer cruising towards his 21st PGA Tour victory. He was now fighting to fend off Hovland’s late surge.
Scheffler had an opportunity to regain sole control, but his birdie putt on the 17th hole narrowly missed, leaving the two players tied as they approached the 72nd hole.
Both golfers executed solid approach shots on the 18th hole, but Scheffler found himself with a slightly longer putt than Hovland. The American misjudged the pace, sending his ball well past the hole and leaving him with an 8 1/2-foot putt for par.
It would not have mattered if Hovland had sunk his 25-foot birdie putt, but it just sailed wide of the hole. This meant Scheffler needed to make his putt to force a playoff.
There was little doubt about what happened next. Scheffler drained the putt, unleashed an enthusiastic fist pump, and shook Hovland’s hand, with the two likely exchanging a “See you tomorrow.”
This marks the PGA Tour’s first Monday playoff since Rory McIlroy defeated J.J. Spaun in a three-hole aggregate playoff at the 2025 Players Championship last March. This particular playoff will be more straightforward. Scheffler and Hovland will return to the 18th hole on Monday morning, and the first player to win a playoff hole will be crowned the champion.
For Scheffler, the situation is familiar in one aspect and unusual in another.
He has experienced a playoff at the Travelers before. In 2024, Scheffler defeated his friend Tom Kim in a playoff to secure his first victory at TPC River Highlands. That playoff was decided in just one hole.
It’s a course that has proven to be favorable to Scheffler after a challenging start. After missing the cut in his debut at the tournament in 2020 and finishing 47th in 2021, he has transformed the event into one of his most successful stops on the Tour.
Scheffler finished 13th in 2022, fourth in 2023, won in 2024, finished sixth last year, and now has another opportunity to win again in 2026.
Remarkable performance.
WYNDHAM CLARK HANDLED HIS U.S. OPEN WIN WITH THE PERFECT ATTITUDE TO WIN BACK GOLF FANS
Despite these achievements, the drought technically continues.
This is the peculiar aspect of Scheffler’s current situation.
His perceived “dry spells” would represent career-best streaks for almost any other golfer. He consistently finds himself at the top of leaderboards, racks up top-five finishes, and makes deep runs on Sundays at golf’s most significant events.
However, when the standard is set this high, coming close is not enough.
Scheffler arrived at TPC River Highlands appearing ready to silence any talk of a slump before it gained traction. Instead, Hovland has extended the competition into Monday.
Now, one more hole, or perhaps several, will determine whether Scheffler’s winless streak finally concludes or extends into another week.
Regardless of the outcome, the overarching message is quite clear.
Whether he wins or loses on Monday, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with Scottie Scheffler’s game.
